Around Every Corner
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Cedric and Sofia are invited to attend the annual Sorcery Seminar, where they encounter Sir Finlay and Gabriella. Soon enough, however, the Enchancian friends realize that they're being watched. (Part of the Beyond Enchancia Series. Takes place over two years after the show's ending.)


Around Every Corner

Summary: Cedric and Sofia are invited to attend the annual Sorcery Seminar, where they encounter Sir Finlay and Gabriella. Soon enough, however, the Enchancian friends realize that they're being watched. (Part of the Beyond Enchancia Series. Takes place over two years after the show's ending.)

Disclaimer: I don't own _Sofia the First_.

A/N: All right, guys! We're off to the Sorcery Seminar, and we'll finally get to see Sir Finlay and Gabriella again. Updates on them coming, of course! AND…you'll get to meet ONE of the wicked beings in this part. Enjoy!

Note: Throwback to a number of stories, including "On Thin Ice" and "Arabella." See if you can catch some older OCs and references. 😉

*Thirteenth Story/Episode 13*

"I'm so excited about the seminar, Mr. Cedric," Sofia gushed as she and Cedric were now on their way to the Sorcery Seminar, via his AutoCoach, naturally. She'd dressed up for the occasion: a blue dress similar to the one she used to wear a couple of years ago. "It'll be good to see Sir Finlay and Mrs. Gabriella again."

" _If_ they're even there," Cedric mused as he sifted through some of his paperwork. "From what I gathered from Finlay's letter several months ago, Mrs. Gabriella should either have had her baby already, or be very close." He glanced toward his apprentice with a small smile. "I don't know about you, but if _I_ were close to giving birth, I'd rather stay at home. I can't imagine how uncomfortable that must be."

"Me neither." She shrugged. "But you know Mrs. Gabriella. She's stubborn sometimes."

"Yet she also tries to opt out of meetings if she can… She's a strange one." He chuckled as Sofia giggled.

"So, what do we have to look forward to this year?" She was fascinated by the Sorcery Seminar. He'd been bringing her along since she was about nine years old, and every year, she learned or discovered something new and interesting. She hoped the same could be said for this year, especially since she was now fifteen and had many new possibilities before her.

"To be perfectly honest, this year's content is a bit of a mystery to me." He shrugged. "Since you and I were on our journey last summer, I missed any updates during those months. I guess it's going to be a surprise to me as well."

Sofia grinned. "That's fine! I like surprises…usually."

"Mm-hmm… I'd prefer _no more surprises_ for a while, thank you. I believe I've had my fair share."

The princess nodded. She could certainly understand his perspective after everything that had already occurred. Her eyes lit up a bit as she smiled at him. "Oh! I thought of a name for our 'team.' Want to hear it?"

"What is it with you and 'teams?'" He laughed. "Flying Derby Team, Dazzle Ball Team… Cedric and Sofia Team."

"No, no, Mr. Cedric. From now on, we're known as the Magical Protectors." She smiled proudly at her revelation.

"Magical _you_ may be, but _I'm_ no Protector." He used his wand to send his paperwork away for the time being.

Sofia's mouth dropped. "Are you _kidding_ , Mr. Cedric? You may not be a Protector according to the Mystic Isles, but you've done more than your share of protecting. I can't even count how many times you've saved my life at this point." She giggled softly as he looked toward her uncertainly. "You've also saved my dad, our kingdom, and many others. If that's not a 'Protector,' I don't know what is." She held out one hand to him, smiling as he nodded and took it.

A small smile graced his features. "Thank you, Sofia."

She nodded before releasing his hand and settling back into the coach. Suddenly, a perplexed look crossed her face. "Mr. Cedric…" Seeing she had his attention again, she sighed and folded her hands into her lap. "I…had that dream again last night."

He frowned. "The one about…?" Seeing her nod, he sighed. "Sofia… I'm not sure what the dream is indicating, but I've mentioned before… Whatever it is, whatever it means, I'll keep my eye on you. I promise."

"You didn't have the dream this time?" she asked, blinking at him.

"…"

She frowned. "You did, didn't you?"

He slowly nodded. "And I believe I caught a glimpse of some features of one of the subjects this time."

"So did I." She sat up and turned to fully face him. "Scruffy face and unruly dark hair… Dark red robe?" She saw him nod yet again. "I'm not sure why, but he seems familiar for some reason…"

Cedric frowned thoughtfully as the AutoCoach neared its destination. "Indeed…"

The Sorcery Seminar was bustling with activity, as usual. All the most important members of the Conjuror's Board were present as well, including one Malango the Magnanimous, who hadn't always been keen on Cedric keeping his powers after that 'incident' a few years ago. Granted, Sofia had stood up for him, along with her entire family, and he'd been granted a reprieve. Naturally, since then, he'd been every bit the good-natured magic wielder that the board had wanted him to be, and he'd been under their radar ever since.

"Princess Sofia! Cedric!"

The friends turned when they heard their names called, and they were delighted to see Sir Finlay approaching them.

"Sir Finlay!" Sofia smiled. "Where is Mrs. Gabriella?"

"I had her sit down." He gestured toward the side of the room, where a heavily-pregnant Gabriella was sitting, a plate of fruits in her hand. "I told her she didn't have to come along to this event, but she insisted." He shrugged. "I'll never understand her, I tell you." He chuckled and shook Cedric's hand before lightly kissing Sofia's, causing her to laugh. "I'm thrilled to see the two of you here. How has your time since the summer journey been?"

Cedric considered divulging in the full story, but he figured he'd save that for later. "Interesting," he settled on, folding his arms. "On a positive note, Sofia and I were officially inducted into the Ever Realm Magical Society."

"Fascinating! I knew you could do it."

While the sorcerers were busy chatting, Sofia slipped away and over to Gabriella, who was currently standing and stretching a bit…or as much as the baby would allow her to do so anyway. She smiled kindly. "Hi, Mrs. Gabriella."

Gabriella returned the princess's smile. "Hey, Sofia. I was wondering when you would get here." She glanced behind her at her husband and Cedric, who were still talking. "I see you've already gotten bored with the 'guy talk,' huh?"

She giggled. "Not really. I just wanted to see you. How are you feeling?"

"Ready for this kid to get here." She sat down again, pushing her plate aside so the younger girl could sit beside her. "We left Sapphire with Arabella, if you can believe that." Hearing Sofia's small gasp, she smirked. "Hey, it's a work in progress. Gotta start somewhere, right?"

In fact, Arabella, Gabriella's twin, had once had a strained relationship with her sister due to some unfortunate circumstances, but the last few years, they'd been working on rebuilding their relationship.

"That's true."

"Oh, you've gotta see what I found earlier." Gabriella grinned as she stood up again, aided in part by the princess. "It's a chocolate fountain."

"I've heard about those before. Baileywick is scared they'll make a mess though, so he rarely has them at any of our parties." She giggled as she followed the sorceress.

"Oh, this isn't just _any_ chocolate fountain, Sofia. It's _the biggest_ chocolate fountain in the world. Or at least that's what they say." She winked as the teenager laughed.

Once they arrived at the center of the buffet, Sofia gasped, her blue eyes widening. Indeed, there was a fountain about eight feet high and six feet in diameter, with consistently pouring chocolate. Some magically-enhanced fruit kabobs and other treats were hovering nearby, allowing the chocolate to drizzle over them every now and again. "Wow…"

"Told ya." She glanced to the side as she suddenly felt a hand reach around and pat her stomach. She frowned at an older plump man, who seemed a little disoriented and…not too terribly abstemious. "What's the big idea?" she demanded.

The man grinned, showing off the few teeth he had left, as he asked, "When are you due, deary? You're mighty chunky, even for a pregnant lady."

Sofia's mouth dropped open. Not only was she shocked by the man's gall to say something like that, but she was also fearful for his life, because Gabriella wasn't necessarily known as one to hold back her anger when people said or did stupid things… He clearly had _no_ idea to whom he was speaking. With that thought in mind, she stepped back a bit.

"Excuse you?" She withdrew her ebony wand, pointing it at his face. "I wouldn't be talking if I were you, _gordito_. You look like you're about to _deliver_ any day yourself."

"Mrs. Gabriella, don't hurt him." Sofia grasped her arm gently. "He's not worth it."

"Oh, I have no intention of hurting him, Princess." She grinned and flicked her wand, calling out a command. " _Decoravit_!" She smirked as the man in question was now dressed from head to toe in a bonnet and the fanciest-looking gown she could imagine. Granted, with his shorter and wider stature, it ended up looking a bit…odd. She chuckled as he uttered a startled remark before rushing off. "That dress was wasted on him. It would have looked _much_ better on _me_." She shrugged before sheathing her wand, just as she felt another hand on her back. "Come back for more?!" she challenged, whirling around (sort of) and raising her hand, only to find her wrist caught by none other than… "Finny?"

Sir Finlay raised an eyebrow at his wife. "What is the deal, Gabby? Trying to hit me?"

Cedric glanced toward Sofia, who was snickering. "What did we miss?"

"You had to be here, Mr. Cedric…"

Gabriella shrugged off the situation before removing his hand and smiling. "Never mind… It was just…instinct, I guess. Protecting the baby and all."

The silver-haired man shook his head, smiling disarmingly at his wife. "Right. I think we'd best find our seats for the start of the conference. Cedric, Princess Sofia, you're more than welcome to sit with us."

Sofia had been about to respond, but she saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned slightly, stifling a gasp so as not to alarm the others. A strange-looking man narrowed his eyes at her before turning and disappearing down a corridor. Sofia shivered quietly and then smiled briefly toward the older sorcerer. "Y-Yes, Sir Finlay. We'd like that." She grabbed Cedric's arm, causing him to blink. "I just needed to show Mr. Cedric something real quick. We'll be there in a minute."

"Suit yourself," Gabriella yawned as she nodded. "We'll save some seats for you." She and Sir Finlay walked off.

Cedric yelped as his apprentice hurriedly dragged him away from the chocolate fountain. "Sofia, what's gotten into you?"

"Shh." She looked left and right, not seeing anyone paying any attention to them, before pulling her friend into an abandoned corridor. She then turned to face him, noting his baffled expression. "I think I saw that guy from our dreams."

"What?" He glanced around, noticing the eerie flicker of the flaming torches along the wall, which led down the dank corridor, clearly a great deal older than the more elaborate sections of the seminar building. "Where?"

She gestured down the corridor. "He went down here, I think."

The sorcerer made a sound of uncertainty. "Oh, _that's_ comforting…" He glanced at his friend. "You don't actually want to try to _find_ this person, do you?"

"Mr. Cedric, please… I've got to know who that guy is. I feel like there's something we're missing…"

Seeing how desperate she seemed to solve the mystery—at the very least, for her own peace of mind—Cedric nodded. "Very well. But stay close to me, all right?"

Sofia nodded and grasped his hand with hers. "Okay."

They walked along slowly and quietly down the corridor, which seemed practically endless. The farther they went, the colder it got, which caused Sofia to shiver a bit. She smiled as Cedric wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his robe warming her a bit. In his right hand he'd lit the tip of his wand, allowing it to softly illuminate their path as the torches ended.

Eventually, the corridor abruptly stopped, and the friends were presented with a choice: left…or right? To the left, they could see a few more torches lit, and it appeared to be a bit of a shorter distance. They could also see a door just at the end of the hallway. It seemed to be made of heavy oak, and there was a large brass handle in the center. To the right, again, more torches, but the corridor expanded even farther.

"What is your instinct telling you?" Cedric asked quietly, his fingers gently pressing into her arm.

"To use what I've been given…" She shuffled out of his hold and lifted her arms. "Which-Way Bow, show us the way to the man who came down this corridor." She watched as the arrow spun around haphazardly before darting off down the right side, disappearing into the darkness. "I guess we have our answer…"

"Naturally," Cedric drawled, pulling her toward him again. "Stay close."

They moved along quietly, their shoes scuffing the worn gravel of the clearly older part of the corridor. It had been five minutes, and they'd seen nothing of the man Sofia had described. Just when they were about to give up, they reached yet another fork in the road. However, this time the answer was obvious: to the right was a very brief dead end; to the left was a short path that was blocked off by a heavy curtain. There also seemed to be something quite noisy behind the curtain.

Cedric pressed his finger to his lips when Sofia glanced up toward him, and he quietly led her toward the dark maroon curtain, pulling the corner of it aside so he could peek in. What he saw nearly knocked the wind out of him.

There, in the midst of a darkened room, was a swirl of magically-created stars and streaks of lightning. In the center stood the very man whom they'd both seen in their nightmares. He was about Cedric's height, but he was a bit darker in his complexion. He was also of a sterner build, evidenced by the toned muscles he possessed. As Sofia described him, he possessed a scruffy face and shaggy dark hair, which seemed to be tied back and hovering around his neckline. He indeed wore dark red robes, again as she'd suggested. It was less the surprise that they'd discovered him and more the fact that…

"I _know_ him," he murmured softly to Sofia, whose eyes widened.

The man in question was busy muttering to himself and had plenty of magical things going on, so he never heard the two friends outside the room. He grinned sinisterly as he clenched his fists. "I've got you right where I want you," he remarked darkly.

Cedric quickly withdrew his wand and shoved the curtain aside, startling both the man and Sofia. "Galiviano!"

The man balked at his name being spoken before sneering at the sorcerer. "Cedric the Great… My, my, my, what a coincidence…" He glanced next to him, noticing the startled auburn-haired girl. "And Princess Sofia? I guess what they said was true." He smirked toward Cedric. "You really _can't_ do anything without the princess, can you?"

"What are you doing here? You were banished."

"From Enchancia. Not from the rest of the magical world…" He grinned before hearing a keening sound behind him. "But more on that later. See you in your nightmares." He laughed harshly and tossed something toward the friends, an eruption of red smoke blocking their view of him.

When the smoke cleared, he was gone.

"Who's Galiviano?" Sofia asked, waving away the smoke and coughing a bit.

"He was a warrior in your father's army a number of years ago, which may be why he seemed familiar to you. He was actually a very _good_ warrior at one point, but… Last year, he was dishonorably charged when he went rogue and started wreaking all sorts of havoc." He looked toward a surprised Sofia. "He'd tampered with dark magic, Sofia. And… _I_ was the one who informed your father."

"So… Are you thinking this is some form of revenge?"

"I think that's quite obvious…" He sighed. "However, it's impossible to tell where he's gone now. I suppose all we can do is wait and see if he returns."

"I think he's working with someone," she informed him. "After all, there were _two_ people in our dreams: a man and a woman."

Cedric nodded as he began leading her back down the corridor toward the seminar. "Very well then. We'll keep our eye out for both. Meanwhile, you know what he looks like now; if you should see him, stay clear. A wayward warrior with knowledge of forbidden magic is unpredictable and quite dangerous.

Sofia nodded. "Yes, Mr. Cedric…"

As the two friends rejoined Sir Finlay and Gabriella at the Sorcery Seminar, Galiviano stood in a different location, his eyes trained on their images in the hologram before him. " _Yes, Mr. Cedric_. What a precious princess. She'll do anything he says."

"We may be able to use that to our advantage," a woman with a rich alto voice stated as she walked up next to him, her hand trailing over his shoulder and her long nails scratching his robe. "Don't you think?" Her long white hair cascaded down her back in rhythmic waves, bouncing each time she moved. Her icy blue eyes could have pierced the near darkness they stood in.

"If you say so, Your Highness."

She smirked. "I do."

The end

(Next Story/Episode 14: Chrysta's Quest)

Ending Note: You will see these two again soon, and you'll learn more about this woman in the NEXT chapter. :D Later!


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